Darien Kevin Linley (12) sets up for a score on Ridgefield Michael Dobson (24) and goalie Daniel Parson (31) during the FCIAC boys lacrosse championship at Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk, Conn. on Thursday, May 25, 2017. Darien defeated Ridgefield 20-4. less

Darien Kevin Linley (12) sets up for a score on Ridgefield Michael Dobson (24) and goalie Daniel Parson (31) during the FCIAC boys lacrosse championship at Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk, Conn. on ... more

Darien Kevin Lindley (12) fires a shot past Ridgefield goalie Daniel Parson (31) for a second half score in a varsity boys lacrosse game at Darien High School on May 6, 2017. Darien defeated Ridgefield 10-3.

Darien Kevin Lindley (12) fires a shot past Ridgefield goalie Daniel Parson (31) for a second half score in a varsity boys lacrosse game at Darien High School on May 6, 2017. Darien defeated Ridgefield 10-3.

Kevin Lindley (12) is congratulated by Bluewave teammate Logan McGovern (4) after scoring during a game against the Fairfield Ludlowe Falcons at Darien High School on May 20, 2017 in Darien, Connecticut.

Kevin Lindley (12) is congratulated by Bluewave teammate Logan McGovern (4) after scoring during a game against the Fairfield Ludlowe Falcons at Darien High School on May 20, 2017 in Darien, Connecticut.

Darien Kevin Lindley drives under pressure from Ridgefield Noah Isaacson during the FCIAC boys lacrosse championship at Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk, Conn. on Thursday, May 25, 2017. Darien defeated Ridgefield 20-4. less

Darien Kevin Lindley drives under pressure from Ridgefield Noah Isaacson during the FCIAC boys lacrosse championship at Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk, Conn. on Thursday, May 25, 2017. Darien defeated ... more

Since he first picked up a lacrosse stick as a child, Kevin Lindley dreamed of stepping onto the turf at Darien High School.

He couldn’t have imagined that when he stepped off, he and the rest of his class would have rewritten the record books for the storied program.

“It’s been unreal,” said Lindley, Hearst Connecticut Media’s boys lacrosse MVP. “I truly can’t believe all the accolades that I’ve received. It’s a great way to go out and instills great confidence going into the next chapter of my lacrosse career.”

That next chapter will be at Loyola-Maryland, and he’ll take that next step with an almost too-good-to-be-true list of accomplishments already to his name.

In 2017, Lindley set records for points in a season (134), goals in a career (219), goals in a season (106) and tied for goals in a game (9).

More Information

HEARST

CONNECTICUT MEDIA

MVP

O

KEVIN

LINDLEY

Darien

Boys Lacrosse

“He had a phenomenal record-breaking year on a record-breaking team,” Darien coach Jeff Brameier said. “It goes without saying that he’s one of the most lethal scorers that has ever graced the field for Darien. He finds a way to get open; he finds a way to score goals at a high clip.”

As a team, Darien won all three FCIAC and state titles in Lindley’s time on varsity. Lindley ended his career on a 55-game win streak and Darien was ranked No. 1 in the country in the Under Armour/Inside Lacrosse rankings to close out 2017.

Lindley may have been the star, but he by no means did it by himself.

“He’s been blessed to play around great players his whole life, and I think that helped him,” Brameier said. “He was modeled after his brother, and obviously his mother is a very successful coach (Darien girls coach Lisa Lindley). So he’s been around her coaching and all that plays into it, playing with guys like Colin Minicus and Jack Kniffin for two years, and then this year being the senior on a group with Logan McGovern and Matt Meyjes really forced him into taking on more of a leadership role, and he stepped up to the plate for sure.”

His line-mate McGovern finished the year with 124 points, good for second all-time in the program’s history.

What made 2017 so special in a program that has become one of the premier ones in the country? In Lindley’s eyes, the answer is simple.

“We were the hardest-working team in the country,” Lindley said. “From our captains and our senior leadership, we were the hardest-working people I’ve ever seen in my life. The attack would get in fights with the defenders because we were going so hard it was like a game every practice. That’s part of it, and another part of it is that every single season starter on the team is a great player; our starting six is deadly no matter what; if you stop one of us, someone else steps up, and that’s why we were so successful.”

While there’s no stat to measure effort, the results certainly corroborate Lindley’s claim. So looking back at his career as a whole, and this season in particular, Lindley feels like the star of his own personal biopic.

“The way I looked at during the season was that if we went undefeated, it’s like a fairy tale for me,” Lindley said. “Like someone’s writing a book or something of how perfect it’s gone and it’s just a total dream come true. Not only witnessing what the program is on the boys and girls side but going 23-0 two years in a row; I can’t even put into words what that means to not only me, but the program.”